Local professor gets into the mind of the perfectionist

If you aren't a perfectionist yourself, you probably know one, so by all means check out this Wall Street Journal story, which includes comments from a Case Western Reserve University psychologist.
The paper goes inside the mind of the perfectionist, which is tough, because, as the story notes, “Perfectionism isn't a psychological condition — there isn't even an official definition.”
Famous perfectionists include Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart and Barbara Streisand, The Journal says.
While some people “see it as a point of pride to push themselves to achieve and pay close attention to detail,” the newspaper reports, “experts say that perfectionism can become toxic when people set standards that are impossibly high and believe they are worthless if they can't meet them.”
Such dysfunctional perfectionism “often leads to discouragement, self-doubt and exhaustion, and it is at the core of many mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, marital problems, workaholism, procrastination, insomnia and suicide,” according to the newspaper.
Experts say genetics may set a range or a predisposition for perfectionism, but that environment and experiences can affect it greatly.
Amy Przeworski of Case Western Reserve tells the newspaper that she sees children as young as three who are distraught when their shoe laces are different length. She says parents can help diffuse such early tendencies—"but sometimes parents have to deal with their own anxieties first."
She has an interesting approach:
One method she uses for adults and children alike is called exposure therapy: "Make small mistakes and do not fix them," she says. Tie your shoes unevenly. Leave a comma or a period out of a paper. "People are not big fans of this at first," she concedes. "But they do learn that a small mistake doesn't make a whole project worthless." A recovering perfectionist herself, Dr. Przeworski says she is crocheting a blanket that is full of dropped stitches..

This and that

Getting better, slowly: Home prices are up again, according to the latest S&P/Shiller report.
“The composite 20-city home price index, a key gauge of U.S. home prices, was up 0.9% in August from the previous month and increased 2% from a year earlier,” The Wall Street Journal notes.
In Cleveland, prices were up 1.0% in August from July. They rose 1.1% from a year ago.
The Journal notes that 17 of the 20 cities posted annual increases in August. Atlanta, Chicago and New York notched annual declines. Seattle was the only city to post a monthly decrease compared to July.
You can read the full report here.
One going up …:PolyOne Corp. is standing out of late from the crowd in the chemicals/plastics industry, according to this story from Investor's Business Daily.
The newspaper notes that while Avon Lake-based PolyOne, a maker and distributor of polymers used to create a broad range of plastics, was announcing the $393 million purchase of Clayton, Mo.-based Spartech, chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont were announcing layoffs.
“The Spartech acquisition shows PolyOne hustling to diversify operations and further its advance into value-added operations,” Investor's Business Daily reports. It says Spartech is the country's ninth-largest maker of sheet plastic, “moving PolyOne squarely downstream in that market.”
Different tastes: There's a Cleveland connection to a new quarterly magazine called Food Fanatics.
The New York Timesreports the magazine “is being introduced with a 64-page fall issue by US Foods, formerly known as U.S. Foodservice.”
US Foods, owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., “wants the magazine to serve as a marketing vehicle to help increase sales for its more than 350,000 products as well as to help burnish the US Foods corporate brand image,” the newspaper reports.
Laura Yee, former food editor of The Plain Dealer, is serving as content director for Food Fanatics.
“Credibility” is paramount, she says, noting the magazine will take “a completely objective approach” in editorial matters.
“When I had the opportunity to work on this magazine, I jumped on it,” Ms. Yee says, because of her background as a journalist.
Place your bets: It might not be top-of-mind for Cleveland sports fans these days — the Cavaliers open tonight, and the Browns are winners of two of their last three games! — but Bloomberg passes along each Major League Baseball team's odds of winning the 2013 World Series.
The Detroit Tigers, who just got swept by the San Francisco Giants, are next year's favorite, at 7-1. The New York Yankees are next, at 8-1.
You will not be surprised to learn that the betting class does not have much faith in the Indians — they're 75-1. (Sets the bar low for you, Terry Francona.)
Only the Chicago Cubs (76-1), Colorado Rockies (76-1), Kansas City Royals (80-1) and Houston Astros (150-1) are considered less likely to be World Series champs next season.
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